To Rivera, legacy on line

As Milford native Jorge Rivera heads into his matchup with Alessio Sakara on Saturday at UFC 122 in Germany, he knows that, at age 38, he might not have many fights left.

That's why he's hoping to cement his legacy this weekend.

"You have to cater to the fans, you know, when my career is over I want to be remembered,'' said Rivera, who's riding a three-fight win streak, including two consecutive by TKO. "I mean some of these guys may have more wins than I do, they may have even fought tougher guys, but if they're boring fighters, nobody's going to remember them. I mean I want to be remembered . . . when my name comes up I want people to say yes, I loved watching him fight.''

With age, Rivera has seen his stock rise. He had his first fight at UFC 44 in 2003. In 2005, he fought in England as well as at Club Lido in Revere. The middleweight then got a second chance on "The Ultimate Fight 4: The Comeback'' and is 5-2 since.

In his last fight, Rivera beat up Nate Quarry so severe, he underwent facial reconstructive surgery and has yet to returned to fighting. Rivera credits his improved fight game to his boxing coaches, Peter Welch, Matt Phinney and jiu-jitsu trainer Tim Burrill.

Though Rivera admitted a title is every fighter's goal, it's the fans he's more concerned about.

"Well, I consider them one and the same,'' Rivera said. "You know, obviously I always want to win, and winning is going to lead to the title. But I think people are paying good money at home to watch this fight and the people that are paying in the audience to pay even better money to watch you put on a good show.

"And I think it's your job to show responsibility. It's an obligation that you have to give them what they're looking for. And I'm not going to run from my opponent. I'm not going to lay on top of him. I'm going to try to finish every single fight that I'm in. And I want to be known as that. I want to be known as a fitting fighter, a guy who comes putting it all on the line. Win or lose, I'm coming.''